Mouse = 1...Mouseketeers = 0 !

Our house has turned into Mouse-catraz.

One little bit of a mouse is tyrannizing us in his small and not so subtle ways. Can you believe that the other night, the last bastion of my insomnia has been taken?

My pull out couch in the lounge is the last resort of sleeplessness. A place to at least toss and turn in front of insipid late night TV programs. All I can say, is " Thank God " I put on the light when I yet again migrated from our bedroom to the lounge.

At first I thought I was hallucinating but on taking a further look, I recognized it for what it was! Good grief, there at the bottom of my other bed were a few mouse droppings. Now I knew without a doubt that, yes, a mouse does climb up on beds. I tell you, the rest of the night I slept sitting up on the other couch, lights ablaze and everything off the ground.

When I did find that pesky little fellow's droppings, I saw red and with a seething determination, even at one in the morning, I changed all the traps.

Did I tell you that neither ham, salami nor cheese tickle our mouse's fancy? I took Lorraine's advice and used peanut butter on a few of the traps. Yes, there are so many traps about, that each morning I have to warn Bob to tread carefully. Even though we both hope to hear that loud clap of a trap closing, I don't want it to be around Bob's toes...

Two days on, and the mouse has evaded all our tricks and traps. Even a friend down the road has given me a mousetrap that she swears by along with a small helping of Camembert. She thought our mouse might be a posh one with posh tastes...gosh, our mouse is posher than Camembert! What next to tempt him with? Stilton?

To you readers, it must sound silly. A small little mouse doing so much harm? Bob and I are wary of going to sleep. Bob will at odd moments during the night utter :

"That #%&@ mouse has wee'd again! yuck what an awful smell. "

Even as I am writing this, the mouse is going berserk somewhere behind me in the kitchen. Under or behind the cupboards. This morning I saw it's head peaking out but alas, I was too slow.

Getting a cat would be the answer, but by the time this kitten is big, the mouse will have proliferated with a thousand little mice...

Here are a few rules that we adhere to in our Mouse - catraz:

• We walk with loud stepping noises into any room.
• Sitting at our kitchen table writing my blog, I continuously shift my feet, just in case it decides to run over them.
• All food items are locked up in high glass fronted cupboard or put into containers.
• Nothing can be left on the floor. Shoes have to be elevated.
• Sleep is only achieved with one eye open!

Well, wish us luck on our mouse hunt...

Biggi